A small plane on a scenic flight forced an Air New Zealand Airbus A320 to take evasive action over Auckland - terrifying passengers, who clung to their seats as the big plane sharply changed course.

Malaysian Airlines will be able to boast a "child-free zone" when plans to ban children from the top deck of its A380 planes come into effect later this year.

The travel perks of the business classes are slowly filtering down to the cheap seats as an in-flight revolution takes place in cattle class.

Only about 50 people booked to fly on Air New Zealand's ATR fleet today will not be able to do so, the airline says.

If you choose your airline on the basis of the quality of its wine list, then you might be surprised to hear that budget carrier Jetstar is a pretty good bet.